1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to virtual asset management. In particular, the present invention pertains to a method and system for providing integrated virtual asset management and publishing capabilities via a rich user client interface.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Systems currently exist that are capable of allowing users to remotely store, manage and publish creative assets. A creative asset generally refers to a work (e.g., text, images, photographs, video, audio, etc.) in digital form and stored in a computer file (e.g., .jpg, .swf., .gif, .pdf, .ppt, etc.) that may be associated or formatted for use with one or more software applications. However, current management systems suffer from several disadvantages. In particular, these systems require proprietary client software to be installed on each end user machine, while extensive customization is often required to address the specific workflow and needs of a client. This customization is costly and extremely time-consuming. Further, extensive training is required for end users to utilize the systems, while the user interfaces of those systems are limited.
In addition, several obstacles exist with respect to accommodating creative assets or works. For example, conveyance of creative assets between end users is complex. One approach is to transfer the creative asset via electronic mail. However, since the creative asset file is typically large, electronic mail messages containing creative assets generally exceed message storage capacities or limits, are time-consuming to produce due to attachment of the large creative asset file, and are difficult for the recipient of the electronic mail message to open. Further, controlling client viewing of a creative asset and other attachments, and enabling a sender to incorporate comments to the attachments are difficult. Moreover, there is no central, organized storage/archive of creative assets that can be accessed and searched via a remote Internet connection. In addition, the task of automating the publishing of public and private content to the Web is time-consuming and expensive.